It was a long way down for Noah Kingery. And it took everything he had to get back up.
In 2007, the former high-school star athlete from Dallas, Texas was playing professional youth soccer in Brazil and wondering whether to sign to a club there or come home and go to college on a scholarship. Life was looking good—until he decided to walk away from everything following a bad break-up.
In the span of a year, as he camouflaged his pain with booze and fast-food, he put on 213 pounds, tipping the scales at 356 pounds at his heaviest —about two-and-a-half times his previous weight. “I went through depression, shame, you name it. Everybody who saw me was just like, what happened?” he said.
Overweight and dangerously abusing alcohol, Kingery was nevertheless enjoying the outward trappings of success. He moved from soccer to fashion, and by 2009 he was running his own in-demand high-profile fashion company, Prep Couture, and living the good life in Los Angeles.
Following the death of a close friend at the hands of a drunk driver, he even managed to lose weight. He got back in the gym and ditched the bad habits, but even as he lost 148 pounds, he says he remained unhappy.
Eventually, he started drinking again. And then skipping the gym. And eating unhealthy food. The weight came back, and a flood of depression came with it.
One night in 2011, ready to end it all, he was considering throwing himself off the 31st floor of his building when a timely phone call from a friend changed his mind—and saved his life.
Post wake-up call
After talking to his friend, Noah realized that he was in charge of his own life, and that if anything was going to change, it had to begin with himself. "I said to myself, ‘If this isn’t a wake-up call, you’re never going to have one."
He got back in the gym, and lost almost 150 pounds in just nine months. And relapsed again. "By 2013, I gained it all back. I was right back with all the weight, all the addictions and absolutely no purpose. It took me losing everything, all of it, to get back on track."
Noah had his last taste of alcohol in January 2014 and has rededicated his life to being better -- not only in terms of health, but as a person.
My purpose now is my sobriety but also being a better man, a better son, a better brother, a better friend.
Today, the 30-year-old is down to 166 pounds and has left the fashion world to become a nutritionist—what he calls his true calling.
You realize quick that this journey is far, far more deep than having a six-pack and looking good. It’s about a lifestyle change, one that’s for real.
